Page 26 of Protective Assignment
“It’s okay, River,” he replied.
She shook her head.“No, no, it’s not.And I need you to know it’s not going to happen again.It was just…a mistake.You don’t have to worry about me making it again.”
“I’m not worried about it,” Cade retorted quickly, trying to stop her before she went any further.
The last thing he wanted was for her to shut down any chance of that happening again, not when that kiss might have been the best damn kiss he’d ever had in his life.She didn’t need to tell him she was sorry.He wanted to kiss her again, right then and there, wanted to pull her into his arms and—
But before he could say anything else, someone burst through the open door, and both of them turned to see what was going on.
“Cade,” Xavier panted as he caught his breath in the doorway.“You need to grab your gear.”
“What for?”Cade asked, furrowing his brow.This interruption really couldn’t have come at a worse time.He didn’t want to walk out of this room letting River think he didn’t want to kiss her again, but the way Xavier had come barreling in there, it was clear something big was going on.
“Sheriff Willis called.We need to get down to the warehouse,now,” Xavier told him.“The Feds are going to meet us there.We don’t have time to waste.Come on, get moving!”
Cade shot a look at River, a silent apology for having to leave before they’d resolved what they were talking about.He really wanted to finish their conversation but Xavier was waiting and there was an urgency in his tone.He opened his mouth to find out more, but Xavier took off before Cade could ask him.River stepped forward, her eyes wide, her face colored with confusion.
“What’s going on?”she asked, her voice shaking slightly.
Cade realized he couldn’t walk out of there without calming her down at least a little, or she might assume this had something to do with her.That was the last thing he wanted.
“There’s this group who’ve been causing trouble in the area for a while,” he explained as quickly as he could.“They must be stirring up some problems again.The Feds just want us to help out, you know, with our training and all.”
“What’s the group called?”she asked.Her voice was taut, even as she tried to sound casual.He could tell sheneeded to know this before he walked away.Maybe it had something to do with what she had been running from.
“The Shepards of Rebellion,” he answered, and at the sound of those words, all the color drained from her face.Her eyes widened, and she crossed her arms over her chest like she was trying to protect herself from something.
“Oh,” she replied.He saw her trembling as she stood before him, pretending like she was okay.He took a step toward her, but she flinched back.
“River, are you okay?”he asked gently.“Do you…do you know who they are?”
She cleared her throat and tried to act casual.“Never heard of them,” she replied, shaking her head.
He paused for a moment, searching her face.He wondered if he should push for more, but he could tell by the look on her face that she wasn’t going to tell him anything else right now.
“We can talk later,” he promised, and he turned to follow Xavier down the hall.He had run through a few basic protocols with the tactical team earlier, but he had no idea what he was going to be walking out into now.He wished they’d had more time to train as a team and be more prepared, but they would just have to figure it out as they went.
Despite that, he felt a nudge of excitement in his chest.It had been a long time since he’d been called into action of any kind, and though he didn’t know if they were even going to be able to help out at all in this situation, he could feel the familiar adrenaline rush starting to pump through his body.He wanted to put all the skills into action that he hadn’t been able to use since before his injury.The pain that sometimes throbbed in his shoulder seemed to havevanished, the pressure of it gone for now.Whatever this day threw at him, he knew he could take it.
He went back to the cabin to quickly change into some fatigues and strap on his weapons and gear, then he met up with Xavier at the front of the building.Lawson was nowhere to be seen, but Xavier had his arms crossed and he tapped his foot impatiently, clearly ready to get on the road.
“What do you know about what’s happening?”Cade asked.His mind raced as he tried to figure out the best way to handle all this.The last thing he wanted was to make a mistake that might cost them, and it had been such a long time since he was out in the field, he was worried he was going to do just that.
“Not much,” Xavier replied, checking his watch as though in a hurry.“We know the Feds are already down there, ready to move in.They’re waiting for us as backup.”
“They couldn’t get anyone else out there?”Cade asked, frowning.
“They couldn’t get anyone else down there in time.We’re closer,” he said, shaking his head.“You ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” Cade responded.Cade and Xavier headed out to a truck parked just outside the main building.“Where’s Lawson?”
Xavier narrowed his eyes.“He’s already out there,” he replied.“Didn’t want to wait.We’ll convene with him there.”
“Right,” Cade muttered, but in truth, he wasn’t thinking about Lawson right now.No, he was thinking about River.He knew he should keep his mind on the mission but he couldn’t stop thinking about the way she had reacted when he mentioned the name of the group they were going after.
What did she know about the Shepards of Rebellion?Had she encountered them in her time on the road?Maybe.They had been going after travelers, and she had been on her own long enough that she might have been a target if she wasn’t being careful enough.
But the way she had responded, the way the blood had drained from her face, it seemed to Cade like it was more than that.As though the Shepards of Rebellion were tied to something she never wanted to think about again.
